Spotting on Adonidias

[ruskinPalms]

Hi,

All of my Adonidia's have this spotting on the leaves that eventually leaves a hole. And the trunks look funky too. They had these spots all summer so I don't think it is cold damage. Also one I have potted with good soil has them too plus I fertilze them all with palm fertilizer with micro nutrients. None have seemed to slow down in growth however and keep firing out spears. Could it be a disease or fungus?

Thanks,

Bill

Top:

Bottom

Trunks:

[glbower]

I get similar spots on my Ptychosperma elegans every year, usually in the winter. I attribute mine to a leaf spot fungus. The P. elegans get no morning sun, and the heavy dews that we get here in Southwest Fla. during the winter sit on the leaves for hours. I have a similar problem with parts of my yard that don't get morning sun. I deduced this from noticing where mildew forms on roofs around here -- always worse on the side that gets no morning sun. Whatever, it doesn't seem to cause any long term damage, although it definitely detracts from the look of the palms.

[MattyB]

Could be a boron deficiency.  Do your fertilizers have boron in 'em?

[ruskinPalms]

Nope, the fertilizer does not have boron   . Where can I get some?

[Jeff Searle]

It's a classic fungus spot. Maybe helmenthasporium( probably not spelled right). It needs to be sprayed with a good fungicide. Is this palm getting watered from an over-head sprinkler? If so, you need to adjust it.

Jeff

[MattyB]

Bill, Jeff would know better than me so definately take his advice over mine.  As far as Boron as a micro; Nutricote and other palm specific fertilizers usually have it in it already.  You can spray a Boric Acid/water mixture onto the leaves of a deficient palm but too much Boron is toxic so a well balanced fertilizer is probably your best bet if you ever do get a Boron deficiency.......or a Moron deficiency   I don't even know what that means.   No offense.

[ruskinPalms]

Jeff, Unfortunately I don't think that I can adjust the sprinklers all that much. There are these cylinders that pop up about 3" above the ground and fire away to height og about 3 feet. Will water from the sprinklers rot my palms  ??? The good news is that the palms should grow above that height in the future. Matty, no moron deficiency here, I have plenty of that and then some  

[Jeff Searle]

Most likely the sprinklers hitting this palm will not kill it. It would just be nice to keep as much water of the leaves as possible. And make sure you are not watering too much. I would spray it with a fungicide at least twice over the next 3-4 weeks. But control the water.

Jeff

[MattyB]

Bill, you probably already have thought about this, but you can adjust the spray by turning the little screw on the top of the nozzle.  Decreasing the flow rate might lower the angle.  Might be worth a try.